Sadiq Khan criticised for backtracking on pledge for London public energy company – The Guardian

Campaigners have condemned the mayor of London’s new environment strategy for falling short by failing to announce the establishment of a publicly owned energy company for Londoners, one of his manifesto promises.

Sadiq Khan published his environment policy on Friday, which aims to turn the capital into a zero waste and zero emissions city by 2050 and ensure that more than half of the city is covered in parks and green spaces in the same time frame.

But his manifesto promise on creating a publicly owned energy company for Londoners is not part of the plan. Instead the strategy says he will tender for the delivery of an energy supply company, aiming to offer fairer energy bills to Londoners and encourage Londoners to switch and move away from pre-payment meters. This, campaigners say, is a far cry from the publicly owned energy company which was promised.

Laura Hill of campaign group Switched On London criticised the strategy as a whitewash.

“For all the bold words, Sadiq is dithering on the single boldest step he could take in the fight against fuel poverty, missing his best opportunity to cut bills for hard-up London households,” she said.

“London doesn’t need yet another branding exercise, we need our own public company, controlled democratically by and for Londoners. Sadiq says London can lead on climate; this announcement shows there is no intent to be a clean energy leader – or even a peer – with other European cities.”

Last year Khan told the assembly he was pursuing the idea of a publicly owned company but indicated the work was lengthy.

“I committed to a not-for-profit energy company in my manifesto and my officers are taking this forward as part of the early work of Energy for Londoners. It is potentially a significant undertaking and so rigorous feasibility and business modelling will be carried out to determine the most appropriate structure and functions of the company in order to achieve the overarching objectives of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and alleviating fuel poverty in London.”

A spokesperson for the mayor said: “The mayor believes fuel poverty is a serious issue that needs addressing immediately, which is why he is keen to introduce a scheme using an energy supply company that can offer Londoners struggling with fuel poverty a better deal on their energy bills as soon as possible.

“The mayor has allocated over £25m to deliver this programme alongside energy efficiency, fuel poverty and clean energy schemes. The option to move to a fully licensed supply company will be kept under review in light of changes in the energy market. The mayor welcomes all views on his plans during the strategy consultation. Nothing is off the table.”